For theater sets, it is frequently desirable that electric lighting in the form of simulated candles be provided, and it is desirable that the lighting arrangements be quickly installed or moved into a scene, and then quickly removed. In one currently successful show, this is accomplished by assembling lighting fixtures that are fully erected beneath the floor of the stage, and the entire fixture is raised and lowered through a door in the floor as needed. In some cases, it is desirable that the light supports or "candlesticks" be of different lengths, some of them approaching three feet in length. In a fixed assembly, this therefore necessitates that the fixture be lowered at least three feet below the floor. While this can be accomplished fairly economically with relatively permanent-type construction for a show that is expected to play for many months, such construction is not practical for theater runs of a short duration. In addition to the cost of building such structures, there is the further expense of shipping and handling bulky and fragile components. Further, many theater floor arrangements are such that three feet of vertical space is not available at floor levels, without significant modification.
Thus, a need exists for a lighting apparatus that can collapse into a relatively small package. Further, such apparatus must be reliable, but yet relatively inexpensive. In addition, it must be easily remotely controllable, in a rapid, repeatable manner.